Heididorf

What Heididorf does

Heididorf is a Swiss open-air museum and themed heritage attraction located in Maienfeld, Canton Graubünden, operating at the original physical setting of Johanna Spyri's 1880 novel Heidi. The attraction centers on a 300-year-old Heidihaus and includes Heidi's Alphütte, Rathausstall, Dorfschule, and Johanna Spyris Heidiwelt exhibition space. Visitors access the village seasonally (March to November, 10am–5pm daily) through paid admission tickets priced at CHF 14.90 for adults, CHF 12.50 for groups of 10+, and CHF 6.90 for children ages 5–14. The site is operated by Heididorf Fördergesellschaft, a Swiss foundation (Fördergesellschaft) established in 1997.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer model spanning on-site ticket sales, a global e-commerce storefront (eshop.heididorf.ch) for Heidi-themed merchandise, and supplementary revenue from public and private guided tours, craft demonstrations (spinning, cheese-making, woodcarving, herb processing), and group/school educational programs. Customer segments split between families and individual tourists, school groups (capped at 15 persons), and adult/corporate groups of 10+. Distribution is supported by regional tourism partnerships with Graubünden Ferien and Heidiland, SBB/PostBus Heidi Bus connectivity, a multilingual website (German, English, French, Italian), brochures in 8 languages, and active social media channels.

Digital product extensions include the Heidithek collection featuring Heidi audiobooks, a Heidi films exhibition spanning 100 years of cinema adaptations, and downloadable children's content. The organization maintains a donation and patronage program (Heidi-Stiftung) to fund heritage preservation. No parent company, institutional investor backing, or public listing is disclosed; the entity functions as an independent Swiss foundation dedicated to preserving and commercializing the Heidi heritage site.

Name

Heididorf

Legal name

Heididorf Fördergesellschaft

Website

https://heididorf.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Heididorf is a Swiss open-air museum in Maienfeld, Switzerland, operating at the original setting of Johanna Spyri's 1880 Heidi novel. It serves families, school groups, and tourists through paid admission, guided tours, craft demonstrations, an online merchandise shop, and digital content under the Heididorf Fördergesellschaft foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Maienfeld

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Entry Tickets: Heididorf generates revenue primarily through admission tickets. Visitors pay entry fees to access the open-air village experience including Heidis Alphütte, Heidihaus, Johanna Spyris Heidiwelt, Rathausstall, and Dorfschule. Pricing tiers exist for adults, groups (10+), and children.
2. Online Shop: Heididorf operates an e-commerce storefront (eshop.heididorf.ch) selling souvenirs, local products, and Heidi-themed merchandise.
3. Guided Tours: Public and private guided tours are offered in multiple languages, including the 'Entdecke Heidis Zuhause' (Discover Heidi's Home) tour running from March to October. Group bookings and school programs are available by reservation.
4. Restaurant Services: Nearby Hotel Restaurant Heidihof, located above the Heididorf visitor car park, provides dining services. While not operated by Heididorf directly, the partnership supports visitor experience.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Heididorf is a seasonal open-air heritage museum and themed village located in Maienfeld, Switzerland, at the original setting of Johanna Spyri's 1880 novel Heidi. The attraction offers admission-based access to authentic historical buildings including the 300-year-old Heidihaus, Heidi's Alpine hut (Alphütte), village school, and stable, supplemented by live demonstrations of traditional Alpine crafts (spinning, cheese-making, woodcarving, herb processing) and guided storytelling tours. The offering also includes an e-commerce shop for Heidi-themed merchandise and digital resources (audiobooks, films) via the Heidithek collection.

Product overview

Heididorf is a themed open-air museum and tourist attraction located in Maienfeld, Switzerland - the original setting of Johanna Spyris world-famous Heidi story. The experience centers on the 300-year-old Heidihaus and includes Heidi's Alpine hut, Rathausstall, village school, village store, and animal experiences with goats and chickens. The core product offering is the village experience itself, supplemented by public guided tours, craft demonstrations, and workshops showcasing traditional Swiss crafts from the 1880s era. Digital offerings include the Heidithek collection with audiobooks, films, and children's DIY content. An online shop sells souvenirs and local products. The Heididorf Fördergesellschaft, founded in 1997, operates the attraction which is open seasonally from March to November.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Heididorf Village Experience Admission-based access to the open-air Heidi village including Heidihaus, Heidi's Alpine hut (Alphütte), Johanna Spyri's Heidi World, Rathausstall (stable), Dorfschule (village school), and the village square. Open seasonally from March to November.
• Public Guided Tours Guided tours in German (with other languages available on request) that walk visitors through the village, sharing stories about Heidi and the historical context of life around 1880.
• Craft Demonstrations & Workshops

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Graubünden FeriencoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional tourism marketing partnership promoting Heididorf as part of Graubünden tourism offerings. Graubünden Ferien (Graubünden Holidays) features Heididorf on its official tourism website, driving visitor awareness and traffic to the attraction.
• HeidilandcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHeidiland tourism organization featuring Heididorf as the central Heidi experience destination. The partnership positions Heididorf as the must-visit authentic location for Heidi enthusiasts.
• Hotel Restaurant HeidihofminorOthersNearby restaurant partnership recommending Hotel Restaurant Heidihof to Heididorf visitors. Located directly above the Heididorf visitor car park, it offers dining with panoramic views and is suggested as an add-on experience.
• SBB (Swiss Federal Railways)minorOthersPublic transportation partnership enabling visitors to reach Maienfeld by train. The Heidi Bus (PostBus) operates from Maienfeld railway station on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from May to October, providing direct connection to Heididorf.
• Raclette SuisseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSwiss food brand partnership displayed on the English website footer, suggesting local food partnerships that enhance visitor experience with authentic Swiss products.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Schweizerisches Landesmuseum: Swiss National Museum in Zurich — the country's largest cultural-history museum and a regional peer in the Swiss heritage-museum category, with broader scope and indoor scale than Heididorf but similar cultural-tourism positioning.
• Verkehrshaus der Schweiz: Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne, combining indoor exhibits with experiential displays and a strong educational offering — a regional Swiss cultural/educational museum peer with a similar mix of cultural tourism and learning-focused programming.

Direct peers

• Charles Dickens Museum: London heritage museum at Dickens's original family home, preserving the author's setting and offering exhibits and educational programming — directly analogous literary-heritage house-museum format to Heididorf.
• Puy du Fou: French themed historical park famous for immersive, story-driven historical experiences and live craft and performance demonstrations — directly comparable in delivering commercial cultural-tourism experiences rooted in heritage storytelling and craft authenticity.
• Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Farm: Literary heritage tourism site in England's Lake District preserving Beatrix Potter's original farmhouse setting — closely analogous model of monetizing a children's-literature IP through the author's authentic physical location, with a comparable family visitor base.
• Mozarts Geburtshaus (Salzburg Mozart Birthplace): Salzburg heritage museum at Mozart's original birthplace, drawing cultural tourists to experience the authentic setting of a world-famous figure — analogous model of converting a historic literary/musical figure's original location into a commercial cultural-tourism attraction.
• Nederlands Openluchtmuseum: Dutch Open Air Museum in Arnhem featuring historic buildings, traditional crafts, and immersive heritage experiences — directly comparable open-air museum format to Heididorf and Ballenberg, combining preserved structures with working craft demonstrations.
• Anne Frank House: Amsterdam heritage museum at the authentic setting of a world-famous literary figure, operating as a heritage site, educational venue, and tourism destination — comparable in monetizing a globally recognized literary IP through an original-location museum.
• Skansen: Pioneer open-air museum on Djurgården in Stockholm, featuring historic buildings, traditional craft demonstrations, and living-history exhibits — directly comparable open-air village format that mirrors Heididorf's mix of preserved structures and working heritage experiences.
• Schweizerisches Freilichtmuseum Ballenberg: Swiss open-air heritage museum in the Bernese Oberland preserving traditional rural buildings, Alpine crafts, and historic farmsteads — the closest format and geographic analog to Heididorf, with a comparable mix of preserved buildings, craft demonstrations, and family/heritage tourism.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC86096kWE_9h_II4T45iYYw
• Facebookfacebook.com/heididorf.switzerland
• Instagraminstagram.com/heididorf_swiss/?hl=de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heididorf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Heididorf